Overall this lesson went extremely well and was fun for my students. With a few alterations, I feel that this could be a strong lesson and easily incorporated into any second-grade classroom.
The Exploration Phase transcended subject lines by connecting Language Arts, math and Science. Our class read about a dandelion, "dissected" a dandelion, then counted its parts. This phase was definitely engaging and fun. I was amazed by the variety of artwork and stories, as well as the number of plant parts counted, that the students generated. Although this phase took longer than I had planned, it paid large dividends as the thorough exploration of the plant parts created a smooth transition into the Concept Introduction Phase.
The Concept Introduction Phase was aided greatly by the technology used. The students enjoyed the photos and most could easily identify the specific plant parts. In addition they discussed their artwork which allowed them to personalize the plant parts for individual recollection in the Application Phase.
The Application Phase was enormous fun with the salad making. The students actively used their understanding of plant parts to create a salad online as well as create a salad recipe using all of the individual plant parts.
In my initial introduction of the activities, I found that many of the students felt that they had already mastered the plant part concept. However the plant part concept has to be taught and explored at this stage in their educational experience. I was pleasantly surprised that each phase of this lesson provided an opportunity for every learner to grow not withstanding their individual achievement levels. Students were engaged and actively learning throughout the lesson.